HALF ART
CHRIS THURMAN: Cinderellas out to catch the eyes of theatre patrons
The Imperial Ice Stars are in SA for a couple of months (December in Johannesburg at Montecasino’s Teatro, January, in Cape Town at Artscape) and they’ve brought with them a quirky take on the story of Cinderella. The basics are the same: wicked stepmother, ugly sisters, the ball, midnight, the lost slipper – or, in this case, the lost ice skate. But there are a few twists including relocating the action to a ballet school in a Siberian town, where the heroine emerges from the corps de ballet to impress the local beau; he’s not a prince, but the Lord Mayor’s son, and very much an eligible bachelor. No doubt the creator of this Cinderella, Tony Mercer, had metatheatrical considerations in mind when he conceived and choreographed the show. Snippets of Tchaikovsky suggest that the ballet for which the dancers are rehearsing or auditioning is Swan Lake. Mercer has also adapted that classic for the ice, along with The Nutcracker. Although his performers have all come from medal-winning c...
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